WRAP a leading global innovator in public safety solutions, commends law enforcement agencies for adopting its BolaWrap® solution with the support of opioid settlement funds. Demonstrating a steadfast commitment to its no-harm approach to public safety, Wrap Technologies has garnered significant endorsement from officers particularly in handling persons in crisis situations related to opioid or substance abuse.
The pressing need for improved responses to the opioid crisis in the United States cannot be overstated. According to data from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the United States witnessed an alarming average of 128 opioid-related deaths per day in 2018. The impact of the ongoing opioid crisis was further compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, the CDC reported that nearly 75% of the approximately 92,000 drug overdose deaths in 2020 involved opioids. Emergency first responders regularly encounter the harrowing consequences of this crisis within the communities they serve, often arriving at scenes of ongoing overdose incidents and critical situations.
Kevin Mullins, CEO of Wrap Technologies, shares his optimism, stating, "With the increasing number of calls involving substance-impaired behavior, we are confident that BolaWrap will enable safer, more humane resolutions to these situations. Officers can rely on BolaWrap to prevent escalation, de-escalate tense encounters, and deter more tragic outcomes, without resorting to pain-inducing tools."
Guided by their no-harm approach to public safety solutions, Wrap Technologies created BolaWrap, a remote restraint device that deploys a 7.5-foot Kevlar® tether from a safe distance of 10-25 feet. Once deployed, the device emits a startling sound that distracts the individual as the launched Kevlar cord wraps around their legs or arms, giving officers an opportunity to quickly move in and restrain the subject.
Notably, Brownwood Police Department became the first agency to utilize opioid settlement funds to procure BolaWrap devices for its officers. Funding was made available through a global opioid settlement with major distributors, including McKesson, Cardinal Health, Amerisource Bergen, and Johnson and Johnson. Brownwood City Council unanimously approved the allocation of these funds for the purchase of BolaWrap devices. Following City Council’s approval, Brownwood City Manager Emily Crawford stated to the local media, “It is a device that can be used from a similar distance as a Taser, but it is intended to be less violent and cause less injury to the person. The reason we are using opioid settlement funds for this is we do encounter people who are in the middle of a crisis that may be drug induced, so we want to make sure we’re not harming our police officers or that citizen by using more violent tactics.”
The use of opioid settlement funds for the acquisition and training of first responders with BolaWrap devices has received legal validation from Scott Greenwood, a prominent authority on law enforcement use of force and settlement attorney. Greenwood, in his legal opinion, states, "Based upon my review, I believe that the use of designated opioid settlement funds to equip and train first-responders with BolaWrap devices is broadly permitted for the purposes outlined in the brief."
Kevin Mullins further emphasizes, "My hope is that more agencies will take the opportunity afforded by the opioid settlement funds to empower their officers to manage these complex public safety challenges in a manner that drives safer outcomes for all those involved."
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